


So Believe I'll be here waiting

by MollyPollyKinz



Series: Hidden in the Sun [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dark Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Drabble for Hidden in the Sun, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Introspection, Mentioned Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Spoilers for Hidden in the Sun, what if Riku never turned back to the light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26859805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyPollyKinz/pseuds/MollyPollyKinz
Summary: The others didn’t understand. They only saw Riku as an entity, someone to be feared and stopped. Sure, Roxas, Axel, and Xion had known him from their days at the organization. And sure, Terra and Aqua had met him when he was a child, but it wasn’t the same.Sora and Kairi were Riku’s friend. Not his coworker or acquaintance. He was their friend. He was family.“Ohana means family,” Stitch would say all the time, “And family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Hidden in the Sun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959451
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	So Believe I'll be here waiting

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a small drabble for my bigger fic, Hidden in the Sun.

Sometimes Sora would look out at the ocean, feel the breeze, listen to the crashing of the waves, and wonder where it all went wrong.

Maybe it was his fault. He knew Riku lived in a bad home. He _knew._ He should have done something about it. Instead of deciding to build a raft, Sora should have told his mom. His mother would have done _something_ about it. Filed a report at the very least.

Who was Sora kidding? They _had_ filed a report. But whenever the services looked into it, somehow Riku’s father managed to come out on top. It made sense. Riku’s father worked with the local authorities. He could make all of those reports disappear, or he could at least use some of his influence.

Still, when Riku’s brother disappeared, Sora should have been there for Riku. He had wanted to give Riku space, to let him grieve at his own time. Sora should have known better.

Kairi would tell Sora that it wasn’t his fault, that they both had distanced themselves from Riku, trying to give him space. Riku had _chosen_ to turn to the darkness. They had nothing to do with that.

But didn’t they? Didn’t _he?_ Sora should have been there for his friend. No, not friend. _Best_ friend. Sora and Riku were practically like brothers. He should have been there for him.

And then the day of that storm came, and nothing was the same ever again.

At first, Sora had hoped that Riku would turn back to the light. He was just a naïve kid back then, but Sora was so sure that once they freed Riku from Ansem’s control, everything would be okay.

Everything wasn’t okay.

The others didn’t understand. They only saw Riku as an entity, someone to be feared and stopped. Sure, Roxas, Axel, and Xion had known him from their days at the organization. And sure, Terra and Aqua had met him when he was a child, but it wasn’t the same.

Sora and Kairi were Riku’s friend. Not his coworker or acquaintance. He was their friend. He was _family._

“Ohana means family,” Stitch would say all the time, “And family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”

Sora wished he could forget. He wished he could forget that he had ever known Riku, that he could look at him in the same way he could look at any other member of the organization. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t forget the hours playing with swords, the days racing on the beach, the secrets whispered at sleepovers.

And, honestly, Sora was repulsed with himself whenever he _tried_ to forget. It was like Stitch said, _no one gets left behind or forgotten._ Riku had left them behind, sure, but that didn’t mean Sora had to return the favor.

Besides, that would be an insult to the boy Riku once was. The boy who only ever wanted to protect the things that mattered. Like his friends.

Sora could never truly fathom what went through Riku’s mind when he left them for the darkness. What went through Riku’s mind every time he took and killed and hurt?

And it _did_ hurt. Every time Sora saw his old friend do another horrible thing, it felt like a blow to the chest. It hurt to know that he had failed so badly, failed to show Riku that he was loved, failed to break the cycle of abuse.

Sora tried to make it right. He comforted every one of Riku’s victims. He made sure that all of his friends knew how much he cared about them. He showered Sekai with so much love that Sora knew he was going to be “overbearing” when Sekai was a teenager.

Sora did everything for others that he _failed_ to do for Riku.

He still hoped that Riku would return to them. He hoped that Riku would apologize and try to make things right again. But after Riku tried to trick them enough times, Sora was no longer optimistic.

But Sora would wait. Sora would hold onto hope that Riku would follow the light back home.

“Daddy!”

Sora looked down the beach to see Sekai running toward him, his small legs working hard to get across the sand. Sora met his son halfway there, scooping Sekai up in his arms.

“Hey, big boy!” he exclaimed, “You’re getting so heavy!”

Sekai laughed. Then he frowned and patted Sora’s cheek. “You have a boo-boo?”

“Huh?” Sora glanced over to Kairi, who was watching them from the front porch. “No, I don’t have any boo-boos.”

Sekai’s frown deepened in confusion. “Why are you crying?”

_Oh._

Sora wiped his eyes quickly, still holding Sekai. “It’s nothing. Daddy was just thinking about something that made him sad.”

Sekai stared at Sora with big blue eyes. “Boop,” he said suddenly, touching Sora’s nose.

Sora laughed. “What was that?”

“Do you feel better now?”

Sora gave his son one of his award-winning smiles as he carried him back toward the house. “Yep! Thank you.”

Sekai _beamed,_ and Sora’s heart practically burst at the sight. They reached the porch when he said, “Mommy wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready.”

“Well, if Mommy calls, then who am I to _dessert_ her?” The pun was weak, but it didn’t fail to get a laugh out of Sekai and an eye roll from Kairi.

Kairi pecked him on the cheek, and Sora felt himself relax ever so slightly. Riku might come back, but at least Sora had a family to comfort him if he never did.

But for now, Kairi’s famous chicken casserole awaited.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm currently on a writing kick, so don't count on me being this active in fanfic writing in the future. I still have about 3 and a half pre-written chapters for Hidden in the Sun, so don't worry about me abandoning any fics. I just don't want you to panic if I don't post anything for a few weeks. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. :)


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